Answer to Question #259896 in General Chemistry for winner

Question

In order to determine the enthalpy change when 1 g of ethanol is burnt, a student carried out the following procedure.

1. 100.00 g of water was placed in a copper calorimeter. The starting temperature of the water was recorded.
2. When the mass of ethanol had decreased by 1.00 g, the flame was extinguished.

When the temperature had stopped rising, the final temperature was recorded.

Fuel

Mass of fuel burnt /g

Initial temperature of water /°C

Final temperature of water /°C

Temperature

rise /°C

ethanol

1.00

20.0

42.0

22.0

1. Calculate the percentage error when measuring the mass of water. (1 mark)
2. Calculate the percentage error when measuring the mass of fuel. (1 mark)
3. Calculate the maximum percentage error when measuring the initial temperature. (1 mark)
4. Which of these measurements has the biggest effect on the overall error? (1 mark)
5. How could the percentage error in this measurement be reduced? (2 marks)

Answer 1

The answer is provided in the image below